Costa Rica's ruling party loses control of parliament after bid to install leader fails

Costa Rica is going through an unprecedented political crisis now that the ruling party has lost control of the National Assembly, which could prevent President Laura Chinchilla from getting through her much-needed proposals to cut back on the country's swelling deficit.

On Monday, Chinchilla's ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) lost control of the unicameral legislative body after a battle broke out over the selection of a new congressional leader.

The PLN candidate Luis Gerardo Villanueva bowed out after accusations of corruption were lodged against him during a bitter debate, in which the opposition Citizen Action Party (PAC) and other minor groups united against the ruling parliamentary bloc.

Juan Carlos Mendoza of the PAC was elected assembly president, meaning that the head of parliament is not a member of the ruling party for the first time since 1966.

The battle erupted on Sunday when PLN lawmakers said they would select Villanueva, even though they did not have enough members present to make up a quorum. Only 30 of the 57 deputies were there, and Villanueva received just 26 votes.

This sparked outrage among the opposition, who demanded that Villanueva bow out of the race. Two hours later, the ruling party candidate stepped down and PLN leaders said that they would not field any more contenders.

"Though we legitimately won the election, we can not tolerate constitutional chaos," said Viviana Martín, head of PLN's legislative faction. "We understand that negotiation means having to give up on some things."

Chinchilla's reforms, which include cost-cutting measures, may be hampered by an opposition-controlled parliament, analysts say. Chinchilla, who was elected as Costa Rica's first woman president last May, postponed her Sunday state of the nation address and presented her remarks in writing.

In that address, Chinchilla warned that Costa Rica's government deficit could touch 10 percent of GDP by 2016 if her fiscal reform plan is not approved.

Costa Rica had a fiscal deficit last year that was greater than five percent of GDP.

In another development in San Jose, a court sentenced former President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez to five years in prison last Wednesday after finding him guilty of taking bribes from French telecoms giant Alcatel.

"Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría has been found to have been the main instigator of the crime of aggravated corruption [...] and will receive a sentence of five years in prison," Rosaura García, the chief criminal judge on the second circuit panel in San Jose, announced.

Rodríguez, 71, a former head of the Organization of American States who resigned in 2004 when the scandal broke, was also barred from public office for 12 years, the court said.

Eight other people charged along with the former president for taking bribes from Alcatel were convicted and sentenced to varying terms. Prosecutors sought seven years behind bars for Rodríguez for allegedly receiving more than $800,000 in payments from the French company during his presidency, in exchange for helping it get a $149-million government contract to provide cellphone lines.

Rodríguez governed Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002.